Jordan archaeologists unearth 'worlds first church'

[Brandalf85]

Cool!

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

[Jolly Rogers]

What ever happened with this discovery. Could they verify the dates?

[shunyadragon]

Cool!

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

Need more accurate info here the dating and references in this article are vague. I cannot find any references beyond this 2008 News article and similar dated at that time.

[Raphael]

These are two articles from the same time period, both are critical of the discovery

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ld-church.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...ch/archaeology

[shunyadragon]

These are two articles from the same time period, both are critical of the discovery

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ld-church.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...ch/archaeology

Another article in a journal is also critical of the claim and goes into more detail concerning the history of the site.

http://www.bib-arch.org/online-exclusives/oldest-church.pdf

In conclusion, the Christian complex at Rihab, both the upper oratory and the cave church or catacomb, is well in keeping with a date in the mid-sixth century, as the inscription on the
mosaic pavement clearly states. The basilica plan, the mosaic decoration, and the differentiation of worship space all support a later dating. Given the presence of many other churches in the area (a number of 25 in a 4 km2 area is given by Al-Hissan and Abu-Ghazalah in their initial reports), all of which date to the sixth or seventh century C.E., it is clear that the so-called St. George church was part of the building program of churches in Rihab in the Byzantine period.32

Footnote

31 It is also worth noting here that the so-called apse construction, with its stone benches, resembles in no little fashion the layout of a stibadium, the preferred dining arrangement in late Antique houses of the Empire. Since Al-Hissan’s reports in the Globe and Mail, among others, mention a cemetery or catacomb, one wonders whether there is a connection between funerary ritual practice and the semi-circular arrangement, but of course such a claim could not be borne out without examining the site itself. Orly Halpern, “Ancient find fuels modern-day hopes,” The Globe and Mail (Canada), June 11, 2008, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...ternational/ho me.

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